Description

Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents three stories with surprising twists and turns. A wife finds something unexpected in her local thrift shop in “Second Hand,” by Andres Neuman. The story is performed by Kaczmarek. Our second story is Dawn Powell’s “Dinner on the Rocks,” an elegant comedy of bad manners in which a snobbish couple aim to humiliate their humbler guests read by Christina Pickles. Our final story is an uncharacteristically light-hearted piece by Hubert Selby, Jr. “Fortune Cookie” features a salesman on a losing streak finds the perfect formula for success. The reader is Michael Imperioli.

Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents three stories with surprising twists and turns. A wife finds something unexpected in her local thrift shop in “Second Hand,” by Andres Neuman. The story is performed by Kaczmarek. She’s best known for her role as Lois on “Malcolm in the Middle.” On stage she’s appeared on Broadway and off at Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, the Public Theatre, New York Theater Workshop, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and recent performances include “Long Day's Journey Into Night” and “Our Town.”

Andrés Neuman is an Argentinian writer whose works include the novels Talking to Ourselves and Traveler of the Century. His short story collection, The Things We Don’t Do, won the Firecracker Award for fiction, given by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses with the American Booksellers Association.

Our second story is Dawn Powell’s “Dinner on the Rocks,” an elegant comedy of bad manners in which a snobbish couple aim to humiliate their humbler guests. Powell (1896-1965) is the author of numerous novels, including Dance Night, The Wicked Pavilion, and The Golden Spur, which was a National Book Award finalist. She also wrote many plays, including “Big Night,” and a collection of short stories, Sunday, Monday, and Always. Her diaries, published thirty years after her death, were hailed by the New York Times as “one of the outstanding literary finds of the last quarter century.”

“Dinner on the Rocks” is performed by Christina Pickles. Pickles, a long-time SELECTED SHORTS performer, has appeared on and Off-Broadway in “Man and Superman,” “The Seagull,” “You Can’t Take It with You,” “War and Peace,” “The Misanthrope,” “A Pagan Place,” and “Chez Nous.” Her television credits include “Saint Elsewhere,” earning her five Emmy nominations; “Friends;” “How I Met Your Mother;” and “Childrens Hospital.” Her films include “Grace of my Heart,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “The Wedding Singer.” Currently, she stars in the Web series “Break a Hip.”

Our final story is an uncharacteristically light hearted piece by Hubert Selby, Jr. Selby, who died in 2004, was best known for dark novels of urban life like Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream. Additional works include The Room, The Demon, and the short story collection Song of the Silent Snow. He’s in a more playful mood in “Fortune Cookie,” where a salesman on a losing streak finds the perfect formula for success.

Reader Michael Imperioli is best known for his work on “The Sopranos,” for which he won an Emmy Award. His film and television credits include “Goodfellas,” “Clockers,” “The Lovely Bones,” “Californication,” “Mad Dogs,” and “Blue Bloods.”